Villanova has a new student Web site, and it’s quickly becoming the megaphone of the University. The burgeoning site, entirely student-run and titled TheSeaofV.com, has emerged at the forefront of the campus Internet scene. It provides students with an intimate, community-based online experience not available on the official Web site.

TheSeaofV.com allows registered participants to post personal opinions, communicate with other members, and take part in surveys found in “The Oreo” student forums. Need a new printer, or want to sell your old DVD collection? The eBay-like “Exchange” allows students to buy, sell and exchange items with the click of a mouse.

The Web site offers world and campus news and the latest in sports and entertainment, all complete with high-quality video clips. Students may also browse listings of on-campus events, specials at local restaurants and bars and restaurant reviews.

The project is the result of seven upperclassmen students pursuing entrepreneurship minors. Seniors Adam Hopkins, Kyle Bevilacqua, Richard Greiner and John Mooney and juniors Dom DeGeorge, Ashley Chiarello and Katie Hydock teamed up to produce the site as a venture within the minor.

Hopkins, a senior marketing major, invoked the sense of community in explaining the team’s motive for creating the site.

“We are all about community,” he said. “We strive to give the student body an online experience they can’t have anywhere else.”

The overall goal “is to make the Web site a common ground for all Villanovans,” he added.

The team, headed by DeGeorge, took the Web site name from the official name of the student section at men’s basketball games, “The Sea of V.”

The name captures the underlying idea of the site, calling to mind Villanova spirit, liberty and tradition.

“At its foundation, TheSeaofV.com is a student run exchange Web site geared toward the transfer of marketable goods, opinions and news for Villanova students,” Hopkins said.

As with all entrepreneurial ventures, success did not come easily.

“Getting our project off the ground was a battle,” he said. “It’s very difficult trying to sell people on something that they can’t hold in their hands.”

However, the site received some much-needed press during the men’s basketball ticket distribution camp-out.

“Student Government Association put a lot of faith in us by giving us the opportunity to announce the location of the camp-out,” Hopkins said. 

SGA has endorsed the Web site as the official ticket exchange site, so students can visit TheSeaofV.com if they missed out in a lottery.

The site is attractive and user-friendly with a clean, Villanova-colored layout. The homepage is emblazoned with pictures of avid Villanovans in the bleachers of basketball games and the iconic two-fingered V. Registration for the site is free and easy.

The team is “trying to make TheSeaofV.com a staple of every student’s life at Villanova,” Hopkins said.

Regarding future plans, Hopkins said that, “We would love to continue this Web site past the end of the entrepreneurship program.”